Historic gold artifacts stolen 26 years ago returned to museum in England

An Anglo-Saxon brooch stolen from the Rutland County Museum (England) was returned a quarter of a century after its disappearance.

The gilt bronze square head brooch, originally discovered at Market Overton, It was removed from the museum on the night of 1995, along with eight more brooches and a gold Roman ring.

The ring was recovered shortly after the theft.

Almost 26 years later, the pin was sent anonymously by courier to the Metropolitan Police.

They went through the Art Loss Register, which identified it as the stolen brooch from the Rutland County Museum, and now they’ve returned it.

The brooch is part of a collection belonging to the Oakham School and is on loan from the Rutland County Museum as an important piece of local history.

Countess Lucy Stephenson, a member of the Rutland County Council Culture and Entertainment Cabinet, said: “The theft of these important artifacts has been a great loss to the county, and we are very happy that one of the items has been returned to us.

“These beautiful pieces of ancient craftsmanship constitute an important link with our past. They should be on display to the public so that people have the chance to learn more about our rich and unique local history. Special thanks must go to the Metropolitan Police, the Art Loss Registry and Zurich, without which it would not have been possible to recover the pin, ”he added.

James Ratcliffe del Art Loss Register, dijo: “We are delighted that our archives were able to provide the link that made it possible to return the brooch to the museum.”.

“Los registros detallados a largo plazo que se encuentran en nuestra base de datos its un recurso invaluable utilizado por las agencias de aplicación de la ley en todo el mundo para respaldar su trabajo, y es genial ver el impacto positivo de esa colaboración más cerca de House”added.

For its part, Rutland County Council is calling on people to be on the lookout for artifacts that may have been stolen from public collections, including the eight pins that are still missing.

Collectors of antique fairs may have innocently purchased important items without provenance, not knowing that they belong to the community as a whole.

He therefore asks anyone with information about allegedly stolen objects or works of art to call the police.

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